Research into editing - Miss Miller

Research into editing 

In this research I will be researching the editing that is used within films. In the making of films, editing is part of the creative-production process of film making. Film editing is from the traditional process of working with films, how ever now in modern days it consists of digital technology to have a bigger impact towards the film and the audience. Editing is important and vital in the productions of films as it can make the film/narrative more clear and display intricate details. Editing also is important as it smoothly includes all the elements of a film clearly. Films need to be edited for enhancement and include all vital elements.

I have chosen a clip from Carrie (2013) and is the scene where the death of Billy and Chris takes place. This clip was chosen because there are various editing techniques that I could use to research about, with the knowledge I find out, I can use this to help contribute to my research when it comes to making my own film as I can use idea's of the different conventions that have been used in this scene.

The first editing that has been identified in the clip is 'slow editing' which is when clips are juxtaposed together at a slower paste to create more suspense towards the scenes. This can be evidently seen when Carrie prevents the car from running her over so she uses her intense power to bring the car to a stop and this is shown in slower motion. Once the car is stopping in slow motion, we can also see the intricate details of when one characters is hitting his face again the steering wheel and can spectate the motion of the blood coming the character's face. The purpose of this is to exaggerate Carrie's evil power and the slow editing shows the intricate detail of how powerful she is with all the damage/harm she can cause and to show the motion of the death and exaggerate the damage being caused. Furthermore, the slow editing is used to make the motion more dramatic as this is the point where Carrie is expressing the power that she contains. This helps the audience to engage more within the sequence as they can see more details within the sequence so this helps them to keep interested and gives the ability to create a better relationship with both the antagonist and the victims. This is conventional to a thriller film because not only are we witnessing two deaths but also seeing the slow motion of the bloods coming out of both bodies in slow motion. In addition Carrie is also covered in blood and this is a popular convention to a thriller film. Furthermore, this is conventional as it raises a high level of tension as the use of blood is being exaggerated. This builds a relationship with the audience as the audience can now see how evil and powerful she is so automatically fear Carrie. The audience can also see the contrast in dominance and power between the two different sets of characters therefore they feel more afraid of Carrie. Furthermore the audience feel sympathetic as they witness two innocent deaths in a lot of detail.



The second editing that has been identified is the 'reaction shot' which is when any shot (often used as a cutaway) in which a subject reacts to a previous shot. This can be evidently seen where we see her reaction when she discovers that the sudden stop has killed Billy. The purpose of this is to reveal her emotions once she discovers that an evil species has killed her partner. From this, we can see how she's feeling as she does not realize immediately that he has died as it takes a little bit time for her to acknowledge that he has died. When she then finds out, she looks straight away at Carrie and we see that she has an angry reaction which is then when she attempts to kill Carrie as she wants to get revenge. From this we can tell that the two character's have a special relationship as clearly she has a shocking, heart-broken reaction when she sees that the male character has died. This is conventional to a thriller as we see a reaction of someone that is determined to kill other people, and death is one of the main conventions for a thriller genre. Furthermore, the male character has blood around his face and blood is key thriller convention. This builds a nervous, panicking relationship towards the audience as Chris is determined to kill Carrie but we fear that Carrie over powers her so we are paranoid that Chris is going to lose this match against Carrie so then the audience feel sympathetic with Chris and Billy. Also, the audience see that the female character is affected by what Carrie has done to her male companion therefore the audience become paranoid in which they don't know how the female character is going to react to Carrie therefore the audience become narrative. As well as this, the audience also feel scared in which Carrie could attack the female character next.

The third editing technique that can be identified is the 'linking shot' which is where a number of shots are linked together to add emotional impact towards the audience. This can be seen between the links of the two female characters as they both have two different facial expression. This is evidently notified when the female character displays her angry facial expression towards Carrie, and Carrie returns a powerful look back at the female character. The purpose of this is to show the contrast of the two facial expressions; Chris has an angry, fuming expression once she notices that Carrie's power has killed Billy, and Carrie has an intimidating expression in which she uses so that she looks more powerful than Chris and so that the audience can clearly see this contrast. As Chris is trying to look powerful and frightening, Carrie exchanges a look in which she displays that she is not the slightest bit scared and not intimated at all as she is fearless. This is conventional to a thriller as we see two different reactions as they are both determined to kill each other in  two different ways so the convention of death is linked to this editing technique. Furthermore, this is conventional as both character's are displaying a facial expression by using the element of power. Also, this raises the tension within the atmosphere as the audience want to know who is going to be defeated. This builds an intense relationship between the characters and the audience as the anxiety builds up because we can see from their reactions and expressions that they both want to kill each other but we do not know who would win and who would end up being the one to die. Furthermore, the audience become more scared and fearful for Chris as they see that Carrie is intimidating her showing that she has more power.



The fourth editing technique to be identified is the 'shot reverse shot' which is mostly used in films where a conversation is taking place and it is when one shot quickly follows another. This can be evidently seen where there are links between the characters in the car trying to avoid Carrie, then linked to the outside location, then linking to Carrie. The purpose of this is to set the suspense atmosphere as we view the two vulnerable characters in the car, then viewing the isolated, empty streets making the setting more haunted and more full of suspense, then we lastly see the intimidating, powerful Carrie who we fear. The links together set the general atmosphere as from just three views we straight away notice the danger that the characters are in. From these links, the audience can straight away acknowledge that Carrie is going to harm the characters within the given location. This is conventional to a thriller as the haunted atmosphere is ideal for a thriller genre as it raises the suspense levels. Furthermore the isolated setting links to a thriller genre, as a typical thriller genre would have a isolated setting making it more dangerous and putting the characters at a higher vulnerability. Furthermore, this also increases the tension level's as the dangerous setting is engaging the audience more as they want to see what danger the characters are going to be put in. This creates a shocked, distilled relationship with the audience as we link the three images together we are then scared of what will happen to the characters as we automatically know something bad is going to happen to them just by the general atmosphere that is being created.  In addition, this makes the audience more paranoid for the victims as they fear that Carrie is going to kill the characters and the use of the isolation shows that there is no one to help them if anything was to happen therefore making the audience feel more sympathetic.



From this research I have learnt different techniques in which is ideal to create various atmospheres ideal for thriller genres in which I could use within my own sequence to make it more successful. The sequence that I have researched has successfully created surprise, suspense and shock & tension as each individual technique can create at least one of these successful and impact the audience. This has helped me with my research as I now know how to create different atmospheres used for thriller genres and now know what relationships these would build with the audience. In my film that I am going to create, I plan to use some of these techniques such as slow editing as it clearly shows the small intricate details which then adds to the relationships with the audience and the atmosphere created. Also I plan to use reaction shots as it makes the audience more aware of the situation because we can see their clear expressions and feeling and then can build the relationship with the audience then contributing to the general atmosphere making a bigger impact on the film itself. I also believe that this technique would help to engage the audience more and give the audience the ability to build a better relationship with the characters.